Wow. I have to laugh. 2 freaking YEARS. 24 months without a cigarette. I remember a time not that long ago, when I couldn't go two HOURS without smoking! Today, I've just found myself looking back and smiling, in amazement at what is truly possible if you put your mind to it. Breathing in.. no stifling cough, no lungs feeling like they were going to collapse. Breathing out.. fully, completely.. truly exhaling. The cycle of it is now a gift, not a prison sentence. I truly am free today. If I look back to where I was two years ago to where I am today, the difference is truly staggering.
Confidence. I've got plenty of it. Able and willing to face anything and everything today without the want, or desire for a cigarette. The POWER to work to and through issues without the need for nicotine.
Fitness. Not as healthy as I'd like to be, because damn those cheeseburgers and ice cream sundaes sure to taste good, but I am getting there. I'm walking, hydrating, and I'm no longer beating my body up! It feels so good to yawn and stretch or laugh and smile without worrying about hacking up a lung!
Independence. I can do anything I put my mind to. I quit smoking. I've beaten the nicodemon, that incessant, conniving, cunning, and persistent little bastard! I've beaten him! And I still am victorious over him today! Only today, its not nearly as tough of a fight. Now its more of a vigilance and a perserverance on my part. Staying strong, staying true. Even in those moments where I'm walking outside and I get downwind of someone smoking a cigarette. Sure does smell good.. for a half second, then I'm instantly reminded I'm not chained to those things anymore.
FREEDOM. I am truly free. I'm working, breathing, playing, living life today, without some crutch or life threatening habit. I never thought I would be here. I thought I would die a smoker. Not on this day. Not in this 24 hours, no sir. I love my life today. I love my freedom today. I love being able to do things I would never do because it meant going without a smoke. I can fly on a plane, swim a lap or 12, watch a movie, go to dinner, have lunch with a friend and not have to excuse myself from the table to get my fix. I am truly, truly free, and what an incredible feeling it is.
Life is hard work. No doubt about it. For some its harder than others. Quitting smoking is hard work as well. And for some quitting is harder than for others. But the benefit of quitting smoking is universal. If you just stick with it. One breath at a time. You get to be free again. Free from the chains that bound us, the prisons that kept us buried away... no more.. today I walk with a smile and sigh of confident content.
I'm no longer a smoker. I'm an EXer.
- schwack
